July 8th is Video Games Day –  a day that celebrates popular video games that change the way our kids play games.  At YesKidzCan!, we like good games.  Literally good games — or games that have a positive social impact.  Games for Change is a leader in this area.  This organization supports and makes games that are played to address important issues and produce sustainable and positive impact on our society.

Thanks to the recommendation of Games for Change, we added another game series to our Good Technology tab on our website where we list online games we like because they either educate kids about an issue or result in donations to worthy cause — at no cost to the player.  The donation is made just because the game is played.  (And because of the generosity of a behind-the-scenes sponsor.)

The new online game we’ve added is an interactive education platform called One Ocean.  Kids can watch a stunning four-part documentary on the power and beauty of our oceans and their ecosystems and also play a series of different games to bring another fun element to their learning.  Kids can play Fishing Forever, The Biosphere (about marine reserves), Pollution Chaser, and Coral Reef Defender.  Check out this series and the other online games we suggest via our Good Technology tab — where kids and giving back click!

© YesKidzCan!, 2011

The Peace Corps offers kids (ages 9 and older) an online social game opportunity to simulate the role of a Peace Corp volunteer by challenging kids to help make the village of Wanzuzu a better place to live.  Kids select the various obstacles to overcome like water contamination, educating village girls, malaria and more, and when they succeed at the challenge, the village prospers and the quality of the villagers’ lives improves.  Kids learn well through play experiences, and Wanzuzu gives parents that rare moment where they can teach their kids something meaningful through an online game.

A recent poll by Family Circle’s Momster website poll reported that experts want parents to restrict the amount of time kids spend playing video games.  44% of moms polled agreed.  51% indicated that if school work and chores were done then a video game break was AOK with them.  5% said they did not have the time to deal with the issue.

I say that one terrific compromise is to let your kids play online games that are educational, fun, and teach them how to think kindly about the world around them.  One online educational site I love is Whyville.

Whyville is the first and largest virtual world for children (ages 8-15) that specializes in learning and engagement.  Whyville works with leading organizations including Disney, NASA, the Centers for Disease Control, the J. Paul Getty Trust, and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution to create learning games, live events, and educational activities. 

I let my daughter join, and she reported that she – actually the avatar she created – learned how to take care of animals, drive a car, build a energy efficient house, run a power plant in a city, and make nutritious meals.  And that was just for starters! 

I agree that we shouldn’t let our kids become online zombies.  However, it is nice to know that there are resources that offer learning opportunities for our kids and make us as parents feel okay about our kids’ spending an appropriate amount of time playing them!

 © YesKidzCan, 2010